Feature Suggestions

We’ve created this site as a tool to help Microsoft understand how customers use Windows Phone and we welcome your feedback.

Standard Disclaimer – our lawyers made us put this here ;-) Please note that the Windows Phone Feature Suggestion Box is moderated and is a voluntary participation-based project, and if your submission is not a product feature suggestion it may be removed. Please do not send any novel or patentable ideas, copyrighted materials, samples or demos which you do not want to grant a license to Microsoft. See the “Terms of Use” link below for more information. Please limit your suggestions to 25 words or less.

CASTYOURVOTES! – community feedback is active and growing … thanks! As a result, we are going to increase the number of votes you have available on your favorite suggestions from 10 to 20. Keep those suggestions and votes coming!

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Please add an option for the user to decide whether he/she prefers to use the OS as it now is, or to use it with a "Byte of Changes":

1. The following is problem from first day on (finger-crushing & risk-full from dropping the phone) for the right-handed (Lumia 1520 Users are totally serious). Add the option for the user to decide for him/her self if he/she prefers to use the magnifying-glass navigation-button with the function of the back-arrow navigation-button. The back-arrow-button will get to get the function of the magnifying-glass-button

2. GSM or PC? As some are very used to the Num Pad of the PC Keyboard, there must be an option for the user to decide for him/her self weather he/she prefers to use the standard Phone-Number-Keyboard or the PC's Num-Pad for entering numbers (+phone numbers and everything).

3. Why is always the symbol we need that hard to reach? Let the user decide for him/her self concerning the way he/she prefers to reach the symbol he/she wants to type. Do it so: every button except the letters (that is, The Capital Letters Button; The Symbols Button; The Keyboard Button; The Icons Button; The Space Button; The Dot Button; The Enter Button; The Del Button. Thereto every symbol and number in the Symbols Keyboard.) should be resizable and movable (like a Tile). The end result should be that the user has eleven places in the Main Keyboard, every Letter Pop-Up and the whole Symbols Keyboard to set what he/she wants the way he/she wants it.

4. Messy, huh? Let the user arrange the System and Apps Settings as he/she wants.

5. Black, White. Where are all the colours gone? It will make many users happy to see their favourite colour all around. That is why You should add the option to choose Font Colour and Background Color or Photo. Thereto the full pattern for the accent color (16M colours).

6. Add a Quick Mute according to how the user prefers to user it: when in Lock Screen - slide left/right/down or disable the Quick Mute. The animation should be as follows: when slidden to, for example, the left, there should be a Block 1" high (the center of which is the user's finger) from the picture of the Lock Screen which slides to the left out of the screen. On the revealed background (monochrome) there should be the Mute Icon. When the user lifts his/her finger, the Block should slide back to its rest position, but under the Mute Icon leaving the icon on the foreground. Than, to get the sound back, the user should simply tap the Mute Icon. The animation of the Mute Icon's deactivation should be as a flipping Tile (flipping on the horizontal line).

7. Not sure if this is a bug (the option "Battery Saver brightness" under "display", when turned on, is active, while the "Conserve battery life" & "Now until next charge" under "battery saver" are "Off"), but if it is, than there Must be an option for the user to decide for him/her self weather he/she prefers the Navigation Buttons' lights to be enabled or disabled without entering Battery Saver.

8. Notification! Well I don't wonna miss that. Flash, flash - let it flash. Androidish, but optional. Talking for the Central-Navigation-Button, let it flash when having a new notification (set an option again, as I, the one who write this, unlike many others, will not use it).

It seems this to be very near the perfect personalization. So please, if You think there is a better way to implement some of these points, please give the option for it to be like You say its best or like we say its best, leaving the user to decide for him/her self.

Because we suspect this to be quite a lot of work getting done, we say
" Thank You ! ".

Sincerely,
A Group of WP Users

Please add an option for the user to decide whether he/she prefers to use the OS as it now is, or to use it with a "Byte of Changes":

1. The following is problem from first day on (finger-crushing & risk-full from dropping the phone) for the right-handed (Lumia 1520 Users are totally serious). Add the option for the user to decide for him/her self if he/she prefers to use the magnifying-glass navigation-button with the function of the back-arrow navigation-button. The back-arrow-button will get to get the function of the magnifying-glass-button

Thanks for your personalization suggestions. Always great to see such great feedback and excitement about Windows Phone. While we can’t promise to ship every suggestion that gets submitted, we will be sure that our product development team receives your feedback. What are some other great ideas? Keep those votes coming!

1. Set an option in Internet Explorer Mobile for the user to choose for him/her self whether he/she prefers IE to automatically save recently viewed pages, so that if he/she returns to a visited page, he/she will not have to wait a new loading (make it so, so that the loading time is zero). When he/she closes the tab or IE, these save-files should be auto-deleted.

2. When the user slides the screen to the right to return to page nr 1, we ask you to set IE, so that the opened page (page nr 2) slides to the right out of the screen, and page nr 1 comes from the left into the screen while it is shrunken like the task-list windows (the one which shows after the back button was held) but the distance between the outer edge of the window and the screen edge is twice the smaller. When this page (page nr 1) steps into the center of the screen, it should become normal-sized (the same as when selecting a non-central window in the task-list). The same animation should be done for the other operation (when sliding to the left)

3. IE should have the option to hide the bar with the URL. When hidden, a notification should pop up in the notification (sliding) bar. This notification, when pressed, should get IE's bar back.

4. Add the option for "read mode" to choose font.

5. Add option for the user to decide for him/her self concerning the way he/she want to view his/her opened tabs. The new way should be to long-press a tab to rearrange it. With this option the new tabs should not move all the others a step away

6. Add an option for the user to decide for him/her self if he/she prefers to close an opened tab by sliding it aside (a tab in the left column should be slidden to the left in order to be closed, and in the right column to the right) or by pressing the"X" button, as it now is. (This option we want because of the stress not to press the "X" button)

Sincerely,
A Group of WP Users

Please enable the following:

1. Set an option in Internet Explorer Mobile for the user to choose for him/her self whether he/she prefers IE to automatically save recently viewed pages, so that if he/she returns to a visited page, he/she will not have to wait a new loading (make it so, so that the loading time is zero). When he/she closes the tab or IE, these save-files should be auto-deleted.

2. When the user slides the screen to the right to return to page nr 1, we ask you to set IE, so that the opened page (page nr 2)…

Thanks for this suggestion. Always great to see such great feedback and excitement about Internet Explorer. While we can’t promise to ship every suggestion that gets submitted, we will be sure that our product development team receives your feedback.

Here we ask You instead of removing EXISTING features, to add an option for them to be active or not, which option the user will decide for him/her self how to use (old/new).

For example:

1. Make some WP 8.0 features available again for the ones who prefer them.

2. Remove only the most heavy (on memory insisting) features for further updates

- -

Bellow are the things that we most insist on, and we see the best solution to be so, that both User-Like-Cases are being covered.

1. - WP 8.0 had a self-hiding task bar - now, a non-hiding one.

As this is our biggest problem, we say, that, to respect everyone who do not want to be notified, there must be an option for it to self-hide.
See, we are writing people, and, with this bar ontop of the writing area in Office, with the always jumping Wi-Fi icon, You may suppose what a distraction that is for the writer.
Thereto we say, this is a total destruction of the ambiance : No ambiance possible : The user is always under the stress of (for some is always) unneded information.

2. - WP 8.0 had super-simple animations - now, becoming more advanced, they appear not to be the same.

As this is our second biggest problem, we say, that, to respect everyone whose eyes are more pleased by the simple animations, there must be an option to switch between the new/old ones.
See, we are not people with the same eyes in beauty, and, You should respect that.

3. - The games in the app-list are for those who want the games to be in the app-list.

For the ones who do not want it that way, we see the reason to be that game-icons make a big mess.
”WP 8.0 had it clean - now - what a mess!” some say.

Sincerely,
A Group of WP Users

Here we ask You instead of removing EXISTING features, to add an option for them to be active or not, which option the user will decide for him/her self how to use (old/new).

For example:

1. Make some WP 8.0 features available again for the ones who prefer them.

2. Remove only the most heavy (on memory insisting) features for further updates

- -

Bellow are the things that we most insist on, and we see the best solution to be so, that both User-Like-Cases are being covered.

Thanks for this helpful suggestion. This is the kind of feedback that we are looking from our customers. And while we can’t promise to ship every suggestion that gets submitted, we will be sure that our product development team receives your feedback.

In Windows 10 Demo, it seems the MS is moving all the Menu/Navigation Buttons to the top of the screen.
I think that's a mistake, We need to keep these at the bottom of the screen , like the existing IE in the phones, to make it easy to use with one hand and also keep the original/innovative style take started with Windows Phone.

Users should be able to change the default browser from IE to a third-party web browser, such as Surfy. The http and https protocol handlers would then be reallocated to that third-party browser so that tapping a link in another app would launch the third-party browser.

Please, Microsoft: in Windows Phone 10 don't remove good WP's features - like:
(1) functional buttons on down of screen,
(2) use "...", not "hamburger",
(3) use phisical "back", not in "back" in App, in general,
(4) transparent tile.

They are four of WP's features, that make WP fun and usefull. If you think to add more Android/iOS version to help users from other platform, you must remember about people, who love WP - and allow them use WP with WP's best feature. So, dont remove these four WP's features, but you can give users (and developers) option to select they favorite version of these features. :)

Please, Microsoft: in Windows Phone 10 don't remove good WP's features - like:
(1) functional buttons on down of screen,
(2) use "...", not "hamburger",
(3) use phisical "back", not in "back" in App, in general,
(4) transparent tile.

They are four of WP's features, that make WP fun and usefull. If you think to add more Android/iOS version to help users from other platform, you must remember about people, who love WP - and allow them use WP with WP's best feature. So, dont remove these four WP's features, but you can give users (and developers) option to select…

I totally understand that the Glance screen feature needs display memory, else it would cost a lot of battery power, especially with it's always on setting. But what's up with peek mode?

When you take out your phone from your pocket, you usually (more than 95% of the time) do it because you want to interact with your phone - check the time, check your notifications, or something more advanced, which you have to completely unlock your phone for.

This means for handsets without Glance screen that you wake up your phone anyway, so it wouldn't cost more battery to wake the phone up automatically - based on your proximity sensor's signal.

Since you don't want to accidently unlock your phone, it cannot simply show the current lockscreen, but a secondary "static" lockscreen (with dynamic informations of course), which you cannot unlock with a swipe. This secondary lockscreen would act like the current Glance screen, so you can leave it get timed out, or get to the lockscreen by pressing the power button or with double tap to wake.

Let's see first the disadvantages:
Of course, it would add _some_ battery usage, since the phone has to keep track on the proximity sensor, but it's the same with double tap to wake, and it doesn't really cost much battery as we noted since double tap to wake is around. Also, by cases when you just pull out your phone from your pocket to place it to the table, or move your hand over it when you are not intended to interact with the phone, that would increase the battery drain slightly. However, i really think these cases are a lot less frequent, than an intended move.

Advantages:
Obvious, but it would enable Glance screen peek mode on handsets without display memory, but with a proximity sensor. These handsets are (currently) the following: Lumia 435, Lumia 520, Lumia 535, Lumia 625, Lumia 730, Lumia 735, Lumia Icon, Lumia 930.
Yet again, it would bring Glance screen's peek feature to the best selling Lumia device (520), and also the flagship Lumia Icon / Lumia 930 (and a few more as well)!

This would improve a lot on the experience with our Lumia devices, so please at least consider the idea. Thanks

I totally understand that the Glance screen feature needs display memory, else it would cost a lot of battery power, especially with it's always on setting. But what's up with peek mode?

When you take out your phone from your pocket, you usually (more than 95% of the time) do it because you want to interact with your phone - check the time, check your notifications, or something more advanced, which you have to completely unlock your phone for.

This means for handsets without Glance screen that you wake up your phone anyway, so it wouldn't cost more battery to…

Please consider this design. It makes use of Pivots, one of the best Modern UI elements, and "Hamburger menu", what's Windows 10 seems to feature) and makes it work together. While doing so, it also makes it look beautiful and clean.

Thanks for your design suggestion. Always great to see such great feedback. And while we can’t promise to ship every suggestion that gets submitted, we will be sure that our product development team receives your feedback. What’s another great idea?

This enables:
- to keep the usability of current modern layout
- a universal "main" menu that can exist in every app on tablets, phones, desktops
- provide an overview of all pivot pages in a single list
- get access for app settings
- a familiar hint for Android users
- consistent concept for every Windows 10 app on every device type

This enables:
- to keep the usability of current modern layout
- a universal "main" menu that can exist in every app on tablets, phones, desktops
- provide an overview of all pivot pages in a single list
- get access for app settings
- a familiar hint for…

With the announcement of Windows 10, Microsoft also announced a new UI for phones which is more similar to the one on PCs and Tablets. I certainly like how it looks, but I have one problem with it: The new navigation bar at the top. I do not even mind having hamburger menus, but again, accessible from the bottom please. Phones are getting bigger and one handed use harder, so please bring back the old grey navigation bar with its circled icons at the bottom of the screen.

Windows 10 for mobile design shown by Microsoft was the worst ever! Microsoft just copied android, introduced hamburger menus, removed the pivot+panorama apps style, + swipe gestures to change screen of app, etc. It was plain ugly layout! Microsoft should not copy android instead improve windows phone and evolve metro design language, focus on text/typography, your core principles! + get better designers, i feel very sorry to say that Microsoft has very poor designers, why doesnt Microsoft hire some people who are making some great concepts for windows phone on internet!
for e.g. see this link

I have been seriously considering switching to Windows Phone from Android in the last couple of weeks, but the phone demo yesterday was just a big let down in terms of aesthetics and functionality. I love the charm of the animations and the overall look of Windows Phone as of 8.1, and if anything I think they should develop that direction further into something like this:

Especially take note of the panoramic interface at the top. Also, I don't mind the new wallpaper behind the tiles in theory, as an ADDITIONAL option, but it was just sloppily implemented from what we saw in MSFT's presentation yesterday. The fully transparent tiles from 8.1 look MUCH more classy and original, and dare I say a much more intelligent way to bring a personalised flair while keeping the tile interface neat and tidy. The concept I linked to above looks good despite having the background show up behind solid / translucent tiles, but my preference would still be fully transPARENT tiles that only reveal the background image within it's borders. Give user options to choose which look they prefer!

They need to stick with their original interface design and aesthetics and IMPROVE them so that they become more efficient, not completely overhaul everything and become generic. This is a real shame if they continue to destroy everything that's unique about their mobile OS, simply because they want to unify everything across all their devices.

Windows 10 for mobile design shown by Microsoft was the worst ever! Microsoft just copied android, introduced hamburger menus, removed the pivot+panorama apps style, + swipe gestures to change screen of app, etc. It was plain ugly layout! Microsoft should not copy android instead improve windows phone and evolve metro design language, focus on text/typography, your core principles! + get better designers, i feel very sorry to say that Microsoft has very poor designers, why doesnt Microsoft hire some people who are making some great concepts for windows phone on internet!
for e.g. see this link

Developer Preview should also allow firmware updates for the Lumia line. Having the firmware available will be useful for "developers" as well as actual developers who will be able to test their code on the final product with the firmware. Detecting what device it is shouldn't be an issue but if it is for whatever reason then simply have a drop down menu that will let the user pick their device. Have a warning for non Lumia devices.

Also should be able to work with 3rd party oem (HTC, Samsung etc) to get their firmware rdy and be able to push via dp. This can already be done with the main windows os so why not with windows phone as well.

Developer Preview should also allow firmware updates for the Lumia line. Having the firmware available will be useful for "developers" as well as actual developers who will be able to test their code on the final product with the firmware. Detecting what device it is shouldn't be an issue but if it is for whatever reason then simply have a drop down menu that will let the user pick their device. Have a warning for non Lumia devices.

Also should be able to work with 3rd party oem (HTC, Samsung etc) to get their firmware rdy and be able to…